Runners unhappy with crowded lanes in Mumbai Marathon

Mumbai, Jan 17 (IANS) Indian and international runners were unhappy with the crowded lanes in the 13th edition of the Mumbai Marathon here on Sunday as joggers and amateur runners came in the way which made it difficult for the main competitors.

A total of 40,285 runners from different corners of the world participated in the country’s premier marathon event.

Kenyan pacemaker Gideon Kipketer came up with a dominating show to clinch victory and also set a new men’s course record of two hours, eight minutes and 35 seconds.

The women’s crown was clinched by Ethiopian Shuko Genemo with a time of 2:27:50.

Nitendra Singh Rawat set a new course record of 2:15:48 among the Indians while Sudha Singh, who came third last year with 2:42:11, came up with a dominating show this time to be the top Indian woman and clock a better time of 2:39:28.

Speaking on the tough race which saw joggers and amateur runners coming in the way in the small lanes, Rawat said, “The race was a tough one. The weather was hot and humid. Also the problem was the joggers and amateur runners came in front of us making it difficult for us to get past them.”

“I could not find the water spots between the 21 and 28 km marks as it was too crowded in front of me,” he added.

Kipketer agreed with Rawat, saying that the crowded and small lanes made it difficult for the elite athletes to maintain their speed and concentration levels.

“As the sun was getting brighter it was getting more hot and humid. The streets were too crowded and people came in front of us, which made it difficult for us. It was too crowded in the middle,” Kipketer said.